100 Books in 2011: A Reflection

When I first made the decision to read 100 books in 365 days, I really didn't think it would be that difficult.  I hadn't done the math -- it meant reading an average of two books a week -- and I had overestimated my reading ability.  Until 2011, I was largely a "re-reader".  I had a bookshelf of books that I knew I liked, that I had read, some of them to tatters, hundreds of times.  I'm fairly certain I could recite To Kill a Mockingbird and most of Gone With the Wind.  Most often, if I felt like reading, I would reach out, grab a book that I was familiar with, open it up to a random passage that I liked, and start reading.  I didn't branch out into new books, I didn't read things from cover-to-cover most of the time.

And then I set out to read 100 books in a year, and I realized that my old methods weren't going to cut it.  First off, I didn't own 100 books.  Second, most of the books I did have?  Nonfiction history, and all over 300 pages long.  There was no way that I was going to read 100 of those books in a year without some serious warping of the space-time continuum.  Such a vast quantity of books meant fiction, or at least, shorter nonfiction, and I was going to have to branch out a bit.

I started dipping into genres I hadn't read in years.  I realized that my previous prejudice for Young Adult literature was keeping me from some really enjoyable books.  I re-read some old favorites from my youth, and discovered that I didn't like them quite so much at almost-30 as I did as a teenager.  I discovered books that absolutely made my spirit soar.  I realized how much I truly love reading.  I realized how difficult it was, reading 100 books in a year.

But how incredibly rewarding it has been.

Goal: 100 books.

Achievement: 100 books.

Pages Read: 35,573 (holy crap)

Best Book of 2011: The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

I'm not going to lie and say that this decision was easy.  I read SO MANY amazing books this year.  But of all of these, Pillars stands out, head and shoulders above the rest.  This is the book to read.  It is phenomenal.

Most Disappointing Book of 2011: Abandon by Meg Cabot

I wanted to like this book.  Meg Cabot was one of my favorite authors when I was younger -- I loved her "Princess Diaries" series.  But Abandon was awful from the get-go.  Trite plot, simpering Bella Swan-esque female character, brooding and unrelateable male character, zero story arch, boring cliffhanger ending.  There was nothing good about this book except the cover.  It did have a good cover.

Most Surprising (in a good way!) Book of 2011: The White Queen by Philippa Gregory

I had all but given up on Philippa Gregory's "historical fiction" after reading The Other Boleyn Girl and its abysmal "sequel", The Boleyn Inheritance.  But The White Queen was really good!  I enjoyed it more than I ever expected, although I was once again brought back to earth with its boring sequel, The Red Queen.  Oh well.  Can't win 'em all.

Book You Recommended Most To People in 2011: The Pillars of the Earth and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

This is a toss-up.  Depending on if the person liked long books and historical fiction, I would recommend Pillars.  I would recommend Hunger Games to anyone (my husband, a non-reader, is reading it right now!).

Best Series You Discovered in 2011: The Hunger Games 

Close second (thus far): Divergent by Veronica Roth.  I'm reading The Bronze Horseman right now though, which will probably qualify as a discovery in 2011, and it's definitely giving Divergent a run for the money.

Favorite New Authors You Discovered in 2011: John Krakauer, Antonia Frasier, Suzanne Collins.

Best Book That Was Out Of Your Comfort Zone or Genre: Divergent

After the debacle that was Twilight, I swore off YA lit.  I'm glad I re-thought that.

Most Thrilling, Can't-Put-It-Down Book of 2011: Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

Such a sad book, but so amazing.  I read it in one day.

Book You Most Anticipated in 2011: The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Everyone talked this book up to me.  Once I read it, I understood why.  It was awesome.

Favorite Cover of a Book: Shine by Lauren Myracle.

Most Memorable Character(s): Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games, Jack Jackson from The Pillars of the Earth.

I divided it into male and female.  Those were by far my two favorite.

Most Beautifully-Written Book of 2011: Russian Winter by Daphne Kalotay

This book reads like poetry.  It is just beautiful.

Book That Had the Greatest Impact On You In 2011: Into Thin Air by John Krakauer

This book haunted me long after I put it down.  It was just amazing.

Book You Can't Believe You Waited Until 2011 To Read: The Pillars of the Earth

My parents have had this book knocking about their house for as long as I can remember.

Favorite Passage/Quote From a Book in 2011: The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough

"The bird with the thorn in its breast, it follows an immutable law; it is driven by it knows not what to impale itself, and die singing.  At the very instant the thorn enters, there is no awareness of the dying to come: it simply sings and sings until there is not the life left to utter another note.  But we, when we put the thorns in our breast, we know.  We understand.  And still we do it.  Still, we do it." 

Book Read in 2011 That You're Likely to Read in 2012: The Hunger Games, The Pillars of the Earth, Sarah's Key, The Help

All of the above. 

Book Scene That Left You Reeling and Wanting to Talk About It: To nobody's surprise, The Pillars of the Earth

The end is astounding.  Especially to someone who is into English history.  I saw the ending coming as I reached the last few pages and it blew. My. Mind.  Absolutely amazing.  Can't recommend it enough.

...So where does this leave me?

I won't be setting a goal of 100 books in 2012.  For one thing, I'm going back to school in January, and I'm not going to have as much free time to read.  My goal for 2012 is to read 50 "new-to-me" books, and however many others I can do after that.  I have a lot of re-reading that I want to do...so we'll see.

Review: Nicholas and Alexandra by Robert K. Massie

Ready?  Because this is momentous.

I DID IT!

With this book, I've completed 100 books in 2011.  Robert K. Massie's Nicholas and Alexandra was THE final book.  I am done, and for about five minutes, I was exhausted.  And then I went to the library and picked out another book.  Review on this page, wrap-up in the next entry.

At the turn of the 20th century, Russia was one of the few remaining autocratic nations in the world.  Its vast dominions had been governed for 300 years by the Romanov family.  The current tsar, or Emperor, was Nicholas II, a young, handsome, quiet man who feared confrontation and lived to make people happy.  His bride was the German princess Alix of Hesse, who later changed her name to Alexandra Fedorovna.  Theirs was a love match, not an arranged marriage, and together they had five children -- four elder daughters, and one young son and heir to the throne, Alexei.  Unbeknown to her, Alexandra carried in her the mutant gene that plagued the ruling houses of Europe -- her son Alexei was born with hemophilia, at the time a dangerous blood disease that constantly threatened his life.  In time, the silence surrounding Alexei's affliction, coupled with the unrest in their society, lead Russia full-tilt into revolution, and the Romanov family into tragedy.

Massie's book reads more like a novel than a non-fiction history, in most parts.  His chapters about politics, war, and Lenin are rather dry; those are difficult to get through at times.  But his writing is never better than when he is describing the day-to-day life and relationships of the Romanovs.  Like Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, the Romanovs are often lambasted in history as being antiquated, pretentious, spoiled and undisciplined, rulers who deserved the terrible ends that befell them because they did not heed the cries of their subjects, letting them starve instead.  But Massie illustrates the backgrounds that lead them to be this way, including the murder of Tsar Nicholas II's grandfather after he freed the serfs and instituted a Duma (parliament) and Nicholas' tutelage under Podobenostov, the student of autocracy.  You can't help but feel for the Romanovs during their plight.

Massie's "inspiration" (if you can call it that) for writing this book was the birth of his own son, who, like Alexei, was born with hemophilia.  His thesis in writing Nicholas and Alexandra was this: that although the country was already pre-inclined towards revolution and the death of the autocracy, the fate of the nation was sealed when Alexei was born with that small but critical gene mutation.  I won't explain his reasons for thinking so; you'll have to read the book yourself, I can't recommend it enough.  Anyone who is interested in Russian history or the lives of the Romanovs should read this book.  It is amazing.

Rating: *****

 

Day Zero Task Accomplished -- Support an Independent Artist!

I started my Day Zero list on November 1st, like everyone else.  I have two things down so far, but it's going to take me until next weekend to update the first one, because I've forgotten the name of the wine that I found I liked.  Today I'm going to talk about my second thing crossed off the list:

Support an Independent Artist

I'd like to think that this counts, even if it's only a small purchase, but this is an artist whose progress I've been following for several years, and even though it's been a while since I made a purchase from her, I looked on her Etsy page the other day and saw something I just could not resist -- it's going to make a fabulous Christmas present for someone on my list. 

Joy H. created Fabulosity Yarn (Facebook link) as a company to sell her handspun and hand-dyed yarn, as well as other pretty hand-made goodies (such as crocheted and knitted items, hand-painted silk scarves, and felted bags, among other things).  The quality of her items is supreme, and she has since, quite deservedly, taken off in the local market in her home state of Montana.  Here are some pictures of some of the beautiful items that Joy makes.

Copyrighted Fabulosity

Copyrighted Fabulosity

Copyrighted Fabulosity

 

 

And what is the item that I purchased?  This beautiful hand-painted 100% silk scarf, which I think will make a special someone on my Christmas list very happy.

Happy Friday!